Michael Dawson's signing is expected to be finalised within the next 24 hours, according to the Nottingham Post.

The 34-year-old played an important role for Hull this season with 40 league appearances, but his contract is due to run out and he doesn't seem to want to continue at the club with Forest heavily interested.

Aitor Karanka likes to have an experienced spine to the team, which can be seen in his January signings because he brought in Costel Pantilimon, Ben Watson and Lee Tomlin among others.

Some of these were signed on loan, but they reflect how he wants to alter the team towards his kind of personnel. Therefore, Dawson makes sense as the captain of the side leading from the back.

The Verdict

Tobias Figueiredo has impressed since joining on loan in January with the move made permanent by Karanka. However, his centre-back partners have been varied with no definitive partnership. Dawson solves that and provides a nice balance with the Portuguese defender.

He could be the short-term leader figure they need to help them in a gruelling promotion campaign because the Championship season is long and arduous with plenty of challenges along the way. Therefore, having players who have experienced the various in-game scenarios and issues that appear improves how the team deals with them and helps ensure they can grind out results at key moments.